


The Eleventh Time

by canadiankazz



Series: Times Jasper Fed from Annabelle [11]
Category: Vampire: The Masquerade, Vampire: The Masquerade - L.A. By Night (Web Series)
Genre: (un)birthday gift, Blood Drinking, Enthusiastic Consent, F/F, F/M, Little bit of angst, Threesome - F/F/M, Vampires, awkward shower stuff, blush of life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-08 15:18:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17983586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canadiankazz/pseuds/canadiankazz
Summary: After a potential night out for Jasper and Annabelle gets ruined, Annabelle goes to Lisa, the kinky mortal bartender, for relationship advice.  Additionally, Jasper learns that not everyone is repulsed by monsters. There are people out there who areattractedto them instead. This leads to another erotic evening, self-reflection, and gift-giving.SPOILERS for the end of Campaign 1, the one-shots, and up to and including Episode 4 of Season 2. This fic is part of an AU series where Jasper has been feeding from Annabelle and they now have a Blood Bond and a slow burn romantic relationship. This was written before the author saw Episode 6 of Season 2. It’s obviously worth reading the rest of the "Feeds From" series before this part.Also, unlike previous entries in this series, this part is 3 chapters long!





	1. Not Worth It

**Author's Note:**

> This is another very long, multi-chapter fanfic in this series. It was done this way as a birthday gift to my friend L, without whom this whole fic series would not exist.
> 
> Special thanks to L and M for helping me edit this monster and for making me take a break from writing after it was finished. I was starting to get burned out, and the rest was appreciated.
> 
> As always, I lay no claim to owning any of the characters involved, and my eternal thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed my fic.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper feels snubbed when a romantic evening he had planned is ruined. Annabelle seeks out relationship advice. They also discover their secret is at risk due to a certain furry, little spy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While reading the first draft of this chapter, L pointed me towards the song [Temporary Bliss by the Cab](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixz8hRNGI-c) that had come up randomly on her Spotify. This song became my soundtrack for writing and editing the rest of _The Eleventh Time._

It had been an awful long time since Jasper had experienced a hot shower. It had been too long, really, and Jasper was starting to feel, well, not bad about that per-say, but he wanted to do something about it all the same. No one expected a Nosferatu to look or smell good, and Jasper was no exception to that. This new change in attitude was brought on by all the time he had been spending lately with Annabelle. It could be said that they were dating by this point, although Jasper would never admit it. She had never brought up him bathing save for once offering him a chance to shower when he had stayed over at her place for a weekend. He decided to beat her to it and finally take the plunge, as it were.

“I have an idea,” Jasper texted Annabelle early one evening.

“Uh-oh,” she replied.

He looked affronted as he replied to her. “When have my ideas ever been bad?”

“Well...” Annabelle responded, and the icon appeared to indicate she was typing a very long message. He texted quickly to interrupt.

“I’m kidding. Do you want this idea or not?”

Whatever list Annabelle had been typing was deleted. “Ok, yes. What is it?”

“We go back to that vampire bar and have fun. But I'd like to shower first. So, can we meet at your place?”

She took a while to reply. When she did, all it said was “lol.”

Jasper frowned. “Fine. I'll just stink then. Only trying to do something nice for you.”

“No, I'm sorry!” came Annabelle's quick reply. “Yes. Come over. Use my shower. Tonight?”

“Yes, if you don't mind.”

“See you soon!”

He almost didn't want to now, but Annabelle was expecting him. Grumbling to himself, he left his haven and headed for Annabelle's little home on the Griffith Campus.

Annabelle answered her door for him when he arrived. His mood was still a little sour and she noticed.

“I'm sorry about laughing at you,” she said.

He shrugged.

“It's just that, well, it's sweet,” she continued.

“Why? Because filthy Nos is the stereotype?”

“Kind of, I guess?”

Jasper sighed and turned away from her. Annabelle hugged him from the side. “I'm sorry, Jasper. You're trying and I'm being mean. I am looking forward to going out if you still want to.”

“You make me feel a little less like a monster, over all, and I just...” he shrugged, pulling away, “...wanted to reflect that.”

“You're right. I'm sorry.”

He looked at her with her big brown eyes and felt her genuine regret in her blood. “It's alright,” he said.

“Shower, then bar?”

“That was the plan.”

“It's a good plan! Go on, I'll get you a towel.” Annabelle went to a linen cupboard.

Slowly, Jasper moved into the little bathroom. Everything in here was clean and white. The bathmat was bright blue and fuzzy. There was a framed piece tasteful artwork that showed nude lovers of an indeterminate sex embracing each other. He felt incredibly out of place.

Annabelle poked her head in and passed him a large green towel. “Take as long as you want, but do remember California still has a slight water shortage,” she winked at him and closed the door.

“Thanks,” he said slowly. He looked around the room again and shrugged. Well, he was here now. May as well. He laid the towel down on the closed toilet seat lid and started to undress. He did his best to avoid looking in the mirror over the sink as he did so.

When he was ready, Jasper stepped into the shower. The taps were no great puzzle to figure out. He growled to himself as he adjusted the temperature and settled on one that was probably a little warmer than a regular human would have liked. It took the chill out of his dead skin and he had to admit that the water pressure did feel very good. He closed his eyes and just stood under the spray and let himself enjoy it for a minute or so. He had forgotten what kind of small joy this could be.

After a few minutes of just experiencing the hot water, Jasper eyed the soaps on offer. Shampoo was not even a consideration, and upon examining the rest he decided he wasn't sure he wanted to smell like lavender, or lime, or any of the other flowers or fruits that had been forced into soap form and then bought by the members of this household. Maybe just a good rinse would do for him for now.

There was the sound of the front door opening and closing. A male voice was talking to Annabelle outside. Jasper froze, eyes wide. He stepped back, out of the spray of the water and activated Obfuscate, silently cursing himself and whoever had arrived. It was Mark. It had to be. A few seconds of listening without the sound of the spray in his ears confirmed it. His voice was deep like Victor's. He was talking to Annabelle, asking about the shower. Annabelle was trying to act casual, explaining that she had literally been just about to step into the shower, but trying to distract Mark by asking why he was here.

As quickly and silently as he could, and without turning off the water, Jasper stepped out and reached over to lock the bathroom door. He was just in time. He heard the knob rattle from the other side.

“Is there someone in here?” Mark asked from just on the other side of the door.

“No,” Annabelle lied. “Why? Is the door stuck?”

Jasper made the best of the time he had bought, drying off and re-dressing as swiftly and silently as he could. This had been a bad idea. A terrible, stupid idea. He really should have known better. He could hear Annabelle doing her best to get her boyfriend away, but it was arousing suspicion in Mark. Still a little damp, but fully clothed and hidden from all natural sight, Jasper waited for his chance. It came when Mark left, heading somewhere else in the house and Annabelle knocked very softly on the door.

“Jasper?” she whispered. “If you're there... it's clear, but be quick!”

He unlocked the door and Annabelle opened it. She couldn’t see him, but she saw the empty shower, water still on, and the green towel on the floor. She stepped past him and turned off the water. “Jasper?” she whispered again.

He didn't say anything to her, but growled very softly. Everything tonight had gone wrong so far. That'll show him from trying to do something kind of nice.

Annabelle turned suddenly, hearing his faint snarl. “I'm so sorry...”

“Annabelle?” Mark's face appeared in the doorway.

“I fixed the door!” she said to him, false excitement in her voice. He smiled and chuckled. Jasper could see the strong family resemblance between him and Victor. Same eyes, same build, same smile.

“Oh, good,” Mark examined the door and frame for damage and found none. He was still blocking Jasper's only way out though. Jasper clenched his jaw and flexed a hand into a fist.

“Yes, so... shoo,” Annabelle pushed playfully against Mark's chest. “I want to shower.”

“Do you want some company?” Mark suggested in a low voice.

Annabelle giggled. “Not this time, I need to do my hair.”

Mark pouted. “Your hair is fine. Come on... we haven't played in the shower in ages and I haven’t seen you in months.  I miss you.”

Jasper wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Again.

Mark slipped an arm around Annabelle's middle and hummed a tune in her ear. It was  _ Unforgettable _ by Nat King Cole.

Annabelle melted a little. “Well...” she snuck a glance around the bathroom. “Alright,” she conceded, “but we can't take forever. Move. I need to get clothes.” She pushed him again and succeeded in moving Mark out of the door way. She followed, shooting the seemingly empty bathroom a guilty look.

Jasper made his exit quickly and moved into the living room, still unseen. He waited by the front door for a chance to make his escape. He watched both Mark and Annabelle disappear into the bathroom together. He heard music come on from someone's phone in the bathroom and the first few bars of Nat King Cole drifted out. The shower turned on. Jasper growled softly. He chanced opening the door silently and slipped outside, taking care to close it just as carefully behind him. He disappeared into the night.

* * *

A few hours later, Annabelle tried to call him. Jasper was back in his sanctum and had been about to lose himself temporarily in his labyrinth. He was deeply tempted to ignore it, but he answered anyway. “Yes?” he said tersely.

“Jasper? Oh my God, I am  _ so sorry _ about earlier!”

He didn't say anything, just snarled to himself and let her ramble.

“I had no idea Mark would come home that early! I know he’s supposed to be away, but he wanted to surprise me! I am so sorry! Are you... where are you?”

“Home.”

“You got out?”

“Yes. While you were in the shower,” he said flatly.

Annabelle groaned. “Sorry.”

He sighed. “It's fine,” he said, though his tone said otherwise.

“Jasper?”

“I should go.”

“No, please... I want to see you.”

He was about to end the call, but hesitated. She sounded heartbroken. That tone wouldn’t have worked on him last year, but now they had a Blood Bond.

“Please let me make it up to you?” Annabelle pleaded.

He was very quiet, debating between his emotional heart and blood and his rational brain.

“Jasper? Are you still there?”

“Yeah,” he said softly.

“Please, can I see you?”

“Not tonight,” he decided. “Later.”

“Tomorrow night?”

He sighed. “Fine.”

“Okay,” she said in a watery voice. She was very upset. Every cell in his body told him that. He gritted his teeth against it.

“See you,” he signed off tersely.

“'Bye...”

He hung up and sighed again. Grabbing his bag with his book and journal, he headed deeper underground. He needed something big like a magical, dangerous maze to distract his mind right now, to take him away from the upset he could feel in his blood.

* * *

 

Around one in the morning, long after Mark went to bed, Annabelle found herself walking alone to the vampire bar she had intended to go with Jasper to that night. She felt miserable. Time alone with Mark had been fun, but it had come at a cost. Jasper had shut himself off from her, and it broke her heart. She hated that she had to keep one secret from the other, and how upset Jasper had sounded over the phone when she spoke to him. Her eyes burned with tears that she kept blinking back.

Lisa, the bartender Annabelle had met the first time she was here, was at the bar again this night. The place was doing good business. Annabelle sat down at the far end of the bar, away from everyone else. Lisa noticed her and came over with a frown.

“Hey hun, you okay?”

Annabelle knew her misery was all over her face. She shook her head. “No, I am not.”

“You wanna talk about it or not talk about it?” Lisa asked with sympathy. It made Annabelle wonder why she had still decided to come here even though her date had been cancelled.

"I do want to talk about it with someone... but I can't,” Annabelle's tears threatened to fall as her voice cracked. She couldn’t confess to Mark or Elle, Jasper was avoiding her, and she couldn’t go to the rest of the coterie. “I don't have anyone... I don't know what to do...”

“Hey, whatever it is, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think right now, but if you need to talk to someone neutral, I doubt I know anyone involved.”

Annabelle thought about it and nodded. She bit her lip. “Do you mind?” She glanced at the rest of the bar patrons briefly. “You're not too busy?”

“It's kind of the bartender thing, to listen to problems,” Lisa motioned to a coworker who was collecting glasses to come over to take orders so she could mix drinks and keep talking to Annabelle. Annabelle gave her a watery smile, glad to have someone to talk to. Obviously, she couldn’t tell Lisa everything about what was going on, but perhaps unloading the broad strokes would help.

“Okay, thanks. Um... do you have a tissue?”

Lisa reached under the bar and produced a box of Kleenex. She left it on the bar next to Annabelle, sensing she would need more than one.

“Thanks,” Annabelle pulled one and wiped her eyes. The tissue came away bloody and Lisa noticed.

“Uh... are you okay?” she asked with concern. “Is that what is? Are you sick?”

Annabelle stared in horror at the bloody tears, cursing herself. She had forgotten for a second that vampires cry blood. She had also neglected to activate Blush of Life before coming into the bar due to being so emotionally wrought. She quickly brought on the Blush and felt her face get warm.

“Uh, it's a medical condition,” she mumbled to Lisa, embarrassed. “I'm okay.”

“Hey, sorry,” Lisa smiled in mild relief. “Some of my other customers would kill for that aesthetic.”

Annabelle laughed dryly. If only vampirism were only an 'aesthetic.'

“See? You're a vampiric dream,” Lisa said as she mixed a drink and passed it over to another customer. “Things aren't so bad.”

The weight of her emotions threatened to crash down upon Annabelle again. Her lower lip wobbled as she fought back a sob.

“Aw, honey!” Lisa nudged the tissues closer to her. “Tell me who I have to punch to make this better.”

Annabelle felt that there was really only one person responsible for the mess she was in. “Me.”

“Aww, I've had those days,” she sympathised, mixing another drink. “Start at the beginning for me.”

Annabelle took a deep breath that shook a little as she tried to steady herself. “Okay, so... um... I'm in this relationship... I'm in several relationships, actually. I'm poly,” she sighed, and when Lisa didn't react negatively to that, she continued, “and I have a boyfriend and a girlfriend and for the past long while the three of us have all been happy, but... last year I also started seeing this new guy,” she twisted a tissue in her hands, her voice starting to crack. “I was going to bring him here tonight.”

“Poly problems? Oh, that's always a hard one,” Lisa said knowingly. Annabelle had suspected Lisa might have been able to relate. Maybe that's why she had still come to this bar to talk to her. “More fun, more love, more relationship problems. So... is this guy bad news, or...?”

“Well... my other partners don't know about him, and they still don't, but he knows about them.”

“That's a tricky one. I'm guessing you have your reasons?”

Annabelle nodded and swallowed hard. She wiped her eyes again, glad Lisa wasn't pressing for too many details. “We were getting ready to come here, and the new guy was in the shower, and my boyfriend came home early.”

Lisa couldn’t hide the appalled look of awkwardness on her face. She finished making another drink and passed it over before coming back to Annabelle with a wince. “Oh dear.”

Annabelle nodded and sniffled. “Yep. I managed to distract my boyfriend and my friend got out without being seen, but...” Her voice broke again, remembering how upset Jasper had sounded. Him seeing her and Mark together like that, reminding him of everything he had lost or couldn’t have in his life any more, no wonder he was avoiding her now. “He's really mad at me, I think.”

Lisa started on another drink, shaking her head in sympathy. ”Yeah, well... it's never fun to be the 'get out the window' guy. I speak from experience.”

“Yeah?”

“When you're with someone, it's just you and them and it's a connection that's just your own. When someone walks in on that and is immediately more important... it stings a bit,” Lisa passed the drink over and wiped her hands, “and it's not like you didn't know that could happen. Still sucks though.”

Annabelle started to openly weep. She couldn’t keep it back any more. Her shoulders shook and she pressed a fresh tissue to her eyes to stop blood from going down her cheeks. She was sure Jasper must hate her. She was just as bad, as insensitive, as Nelli could be in her worse moments. All those months getting closer to him ruined in one bad night.

Lisa leaned down over the bar and caught Annabelle's eye. “That doesn't mean it's your fault though,” she said gently. “It's one of those awkward things that happens in complex relationships.”

“I think... my friend saw my boyfriend and I being... intimate, kind of,” Annabelle choked, struggling to find the words to explain, “and... he's got... God, it's so complicated!” She clenched her fists in frustration. Things had been going so well until tonight! She could remember Jasper and herself, not all that long ago, on his bed in his sanctum with Jasper making her climax over and over again with his hands and mouth. He had seemed so confident and relaxed... in love almost. It was a side of Jasper she wanted to see more of, but now she feared she might never will. “My friend has... issues that have prevented him from being intimate with anyone in a very long time... and I feel like I might lose him...”

“Have you spoken to him since he vamoosed?”

“I called him,” Annabelle sniffled. “He said he'll see me tomorrow. He sounded... monosyllabic.”

“Hmm...” Lisa started mixing a new drink order. She kept one eye on Annabelle. “He might've seen something that hurt his pride, yeah, but clearly you care about him a lot. Have you made that clear to him?”

Annabelle nodded. She wiped her eyes again. If nothing else, their Blood Bond, for better or for worse, told him how she felt, even if she still didn't fully understood how it worked. “He knows. At least... I hope he knows.”

“He might need reminding.”

“Yeah,” Annabelle sighed. And here was the problem. Here was why she needed advice. “But how?”

“He said he'd see you tomorrow in person, yeah?”

Annabelle nodded.

“See him in person,” Lisa said. “Drop your own pride and tell him he's important. If he feels the same, he'll calm down. You may need to work on your communication skills though.”

“I try. He's very closed off.” 

Oh, what Annabelle wouldn’t give to learn more about Jasper's life and past, no matter how bad he thought it was.

“It's probably not my place,” Lisa said slowly, “but if there's a way to be more open with your other partners about him, he'd probably appreciate it. Like, could you tell them you're interested in someone but he  _ really _ likes his privacy?”

Annabelle considered that. “I could try, but I don't know what their reaction would be.” That wasn't entirely true. Jasper would be even more furious and Mark and Elleanore would be hurt that she had kept him a secret. Things seemed rocky enough with everything Annabelle had been keeping from them already. The thought triggered more tears to fall and she had to dab her eyes again. “I don't want to lose  _ everyone _ ...”

“Sweetheart, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Lisa said soothingly. “If you care this much, I bet they never want to let you go.”

Annabelle nodded. Them not wanting to let each other go was a big part of the problem. She had done her best to keep Mark and Elle away, but it was too hard. She missed them too much and she knew they missed her. And to accidentally make Jasper, who had gone through it all already but had been forced to do so much more harshly and cold turkey, watch her still be with her partners while the pain of not being with his living girlfriend still lingered deep in his dead heart...

Annabelle lay her head down on her arms on top of the bar and started to cry again, grieving for all the past and future relationships ruined by vampire kind.

“It's gonna be okay, hun,” she heard Lisa say. “You'll cry it out, and you'll clean up, and you'll go see all your favourite people and tell them you love them.”

Annabelle sniffled and turned her head to the side. That was the other thing. Neither Jasper nor herself had been able to fully commit to that dreaded “L” word yet, even though it was obviously there between them. “I haven't even told him that yet,” she sighed softly. “Our relationship is very complicated.”

“You don't have to  _ say it _ say it, but you have a connection, and it's different than the one you have with other people, but it's still good.”

Annabelle nodded and wiped her eyes again. She did feel a little better after her cry, but she was still worried.

Lisa offered her some water, but Annabelle declined it, regretfully. She didn't feel like getting sick later. That wouldn’t improve her night at all. Lisa assessed Annabelle and noticed the slight improvement. “I have a feeling you're gonna be fine,” she said. “You seem pretty good at being upfront and honest.”

Annabelle sighed. “Thanks. I just wish... my friend wasn't such a tough nut to crack.” She let out a little grim chuckle. Jasper wouldn’t have appreciated being called “a tough nut.” It was something she had heard X call Jasper once though.

A memory surfaced in her brain of Jasper clinging to her on the ground level of the Grove parking structure, his face horribly burned and his body beyond injured and exhausted. He still did an almost impossible and dangerous stunt to save her, and he had done it without thinking, just because he had seen that she was in danger. She thought of him sitting, shirtless, in pain and vulnerable on his bed afterwards while she fretted over his wounds. “I know he cares about me though,” she said to Lisa. “He's opened up with me more than anyone... and he saved my life while almost dying himself, so...” she shrugged. That had to count for something.

“Ha!” Lisa chuckled, as if the whole problem was solved. “Okay, wow! Yeah, he's going to forgive you.” She had a slight note of envy in her voice. “Also, remind me not to walk down any dark alleys with you two.”

Annabelle giggled. She wasn't sure why. She did feel better though. A little of the weight of her misery had been lifted. “I wish you could meet him.”

“Maybe I will one day, or maybe I'll only ever hear starry-eyed stories from you, on the many, many times you come back to visit,” Lisa gave her a wink.

Annabelle ran her fingers through her hair and over her scalp with a deep sigh. “I'm still a little worried about seeing him tomorrow, but I can't wait for it at the same time.” 

Absentmindedly, Annabelle's hand lingered on that spot between her neck and shoulder on her right side, where Jasper tended to bite. She rubbed her skin there.

Lisa noticed this and her eyebrows rose. She was a mortal, but she still knew what that spot meant for people like her who was into a blood kink. “Sounds like you like him  _ plenty _ ,” she smiled.

Annabelle nodded. She wished for could go back to Jasper's haven that night, but she didn't want to push her luck. Jasper, perhaps more than anyone else she knew, really needed his space sometimes. She was starting to think about what she wanted to say to Jasper though, now that her head was a little more clear. Talking to Lisa had done wonders.

Two o'clock rolled around, which was closing time for the bar that night. Lisa offered to let Annabelle stay, or even to come back to her place, but Annabelle declined. She did walk Lisa home though. It was the very least she could do.

“You're so nice, Lisa. Thanks for the talk and everything.”

“So are you! Besides... you're incredibly cute and you know I exist. I'm happy,” Lisa winked at her again. Annabelle blushed. “Don't be afraid to come to me for other stuff too.”

Annabelle nodded, biting her lip. She did intend to feed from Lisa again in the future, but not this night.

Lisa gave her a hug before going into her apartment. Annabelle appreciated it.

Annabelle cut a sad and lonely figure as she walked home, processing everything. She still had a lot to think about before she saw Jasper again.

* * *

The next night, around midnight, Jasper was transcribing some notes about the labyrinth into his journal when sudden movement in his peripheral caught his eye. Nothing should be moving down in his sanctum while he's alone in there except for him, so Jasper's attention imminently snapped up. It was a rat, making a dash for it to try to squeeze behind a shelf. Jasper snarled and sprang up to catch it. He managed to grab the rodent by its tail just before it disappeared and dragged it backwards out from its hiding spot. The rat squeaked and thrashed in pain, but Jasper did not care. He gripped the rat around its middle. It tried to bite and scratch him and he growled at it. He was already in a bad mood and this was not helping.

“Listen to me!” he snarled. His grip tightened until the rat stopped struggling and just looked at him, fear in its little beady black eyes. Jasper got the impression that the rat  _ was _ listening, not just frozen in terror. He could feel its tiny panicking heart under his thumb. “I know who you're working for, and you tell her that from now on, I will  _ destroy _ any and all rats I catch near my home, and then I will hunt her down and she will  _ not _ enjoy the  _ conversation _ we have! My haven is  _ off limits _ to Ramona, and she is not to tell  _ anyone _ about what has been seen or heard down here, or else we are going to have a  _ major _ problem. Are. We. Clear?”

The rat squeaked. Jasper didn't speak rat, but he felt it safe to assume this this little vermin ghoul had understood him.

Jasper stormed through his haven, rat still in hand, all the way up the passage towards the river. He threw open the door single handedly and tossed the rat across to the grass in the park. It landed, mostly unharmed, with a soft thud and scampered away as quickly as it could. Jasper snarled.

He was about to turn to go back inside when he spotted Annabelle some distance away walking towards him. Jasper sighed. He did say he would see her this night, and though he still wasn't happy, he supposed he owed her a conversation about it at least. He leaned back against the wall just inside the passage way, leaving the hatch slightly ajar, arms crossed over his chest, and waited for her.

He could fear her footsteps on the concrete as she approached with caution. “Jasper?” she called softly.

He pushed the door open a little with one hand. Annabelle's face appeared in the opening and she saw him. She had her hood up. Jasper could feel that she was nervous, upset, hopeful... a whole mess of emotions, really. “Um, hey,” she said.

“Hi.”

“Did I see you throw something just now?”

“There was a rat in my sanctum.”

Annabelle gasped. “One of Ramona's?”

“I assume so.”

“Shit...” Annabelle sighed. “So... do you think she knows?”

Jasper gritted his teeth. “She might.”

“Can we trust her? Would she tell anyone?”

“I hope we can trust her. She's good at keeping secrets, but...” he shrugged.

Annabelle bit her lip. “May I come in? Please? I need to talk to you.”

Jasper looked at her. She seemed very meek, which was quite sad when he was used to seeing her so strong. “Okay.”

She entered and he pulled the door shut behind her. They walked slowly back down the tunnel to his sanctum. Annabelle started texting as they walked. “I'm going to ask Ramona to please not send any more rats into your home,” she explained.

“I think I've already passed on that message, but fine.”

Annabelle received a reply message and gasped in surprise and mild horror. “Oh, no...”

“What?”

She showed him her phone. “She knows.”

Ramona's reply text read “Fine, I didn't want to know any more about your kinky fuckery anyway!” Followed by several winky face and vomiting emojis.

Jasper's eyes blazed angrily and he growled.

“Please don't tell anyone!!!” Annabelle texted desperately.

Jasper waited as Annabelle received and sent a few more messages back and forth. Finally, Annabelle sighed in relief. “She's not going to tell anyone, although she thinks we're being super gross, and you'd better not kill any rats.”

“I will if I catch them in my home again,” Jasper snapped.

Annabelle nodded, still texting as much damage control as she could.

Her phone was away by the time they made it all the way into the sanctum. Jasper went to the lounge and put his books and things away. Annabelle stood awkwardly, watching him and trying not to fidget.

“Jasper... I know I've apologised already for what happened last night. I'm still sorry. I never meant to hurt your feelings.”

Jasper paused and looked at her. He knew she was speaking the truth. He decided to let her finish getting her thoughts out before he said anything.

“I spent a long time last night thinking about us, and how I feel about you,” she continued, trying not to let her voice shake. “I... I really care for you a lot. I'd be  _ so _ devastated if anything happened to you, but I still love my boyfriend and girlfriend too, and I miss them… and I did what I could to give you a chance to get out of there.”

Jasper nodded. “I know.”

“Please don't be mad at me any more,” Annabelle whispered.

Jasper winced as his blood pulled towards her. There was only so much of heartbroken Annabelle their Blood Bond would allow him to take. “I'm not mad at you,” he sighed slowly. “Not really. It was more... the whole situation.”

“So... you'll forgive me?” she asked, hope creeping into her voice.

“Yeah, of course.”

Annabelle looked like she was going to burst into tears. Something in him broke a little and he stepped towards her and slowly put his arms around her. She collapsed into him, grateful for his touch, and sniffled.

“Shh... you don't have to cry any more. It's alright,” he said softly, resting his chin on her head. He kind of loved how tiny she was and how much strength and fury could be packed into her small frame. “It was a bad night, but it's past now. That'll teach me not to have a shower again though. Bad things happen, like someone in the Temple family showing up.”

Annabelle's laugh was muffled by Jasper's hoodie. “Don't be mean.”

Jasper snarled, but it held very little menace.

“Jasper,” Annabelle said. “I want to take you back to that vampire bar tonight.”

He nodded, thinking he understood her head space. She wanted to have the date they had missed out on last night.

“And I want you to meet Lisa,” Annabelle added. “And by that, I mean have her meet you.”

Jasper stiffened with a little snarl. “No.”

“She was a big help to me last night! She listened and gave advice when I couldn’t go to anyone else. She understands, Jasper.”

“But she's still mortal. She shouldn’t see me.” He couldn’t believe he had to explain something like this to Annabelle again.

Annabelle gave him a stern look he wasn't expecting. “She works at a vampire bar and has a blood kink. She's going to think you're an extreme cosplayer.” Jasper still had a doubtful expression, so she continued. “And I genuinely think she would like you, warts and all, as they say. If things go bad, you never have to do anything I suggest ever again. I'll ask Victor to wipe her memory and that's that.”

Jasper sighed and rolled his eyes. He ran his tongue over his fangs several times while he thought it over. He looked into Annabelle's big, dark eyes and, against his better judgement, gave in. “Okay, fine.”

Annabelle smiled. “You won't regret this.”

“I'd better not.”


	2. Moments of Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabelle takes Jasper to the vampire-themed bar without him using Obfuscate. What will Lisa the bartender's reaction be upon seeing his face?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I acknowledge that there is a Masquerade risk in this chapter, but let’s hope it doesn’t seem too OOC. Let’s just say that this is an AU and we’re all having fun, yeah?

The vampire bar wasn't as busy this night as it had been the one previous. This was good, because if it had been packed, Jasper might have backed out of the plan all together. Even still, Jasper kept his hood up and adjusted so his face was as deeply hidden inside it as he could. Annabelle spotted Lisa at the bar and they headed over. Annabelle activated Blush of Life and sat near the end, where she had her cry the night previous. Jasper loomed right at the end by the wall next to her, keeping his body partly turned away.

Lisa waved and smiled, happy to see Annabelle feeling better. She finished serving another customer, then went over to talk to her.

“Hi!” Annabelle chirped.

“Hey! You're in a good mood tonight.”

“I am, yeah,” Annabelle replied. “How are you?”

“Oh, same old, same old. Just observing the weekday crowd,” She gestured briefly to the meagre patrons, who were all minding their own business in their gothic couples or cliques. “Who's your friend?” Lisa asked.

“This is my friend I mentioned last night,” Annabelle said, placing a hand on Jasper's arm. “This is Jasper.”

The moment of truth had arrived. Jasper looked at Lisa. She took in his gaunt face, pale as death, the piercing, icy, dark-rimmed eyes, the faint black lines around the edges where his skin disappeared into his hoodie and, of course, the long, impossible-to-miss sharp fangs. He gave her a small, polite smile. She gasped, unable to hide her shock at his appearance, but there was no true terror in her eyes. If anything, there was excitement and curiosity. “H-hi! I'm Lisa. I've been hearing good things about you.”

Jasper arched a pale eyebrow at Annabelle in his own mild surprise. She had taken his appearance well. Annabelle smiled smugly at him. This was a gothic vampire bar, designed for a certain type of people with certain interests. People who looked like some milder version of Jasper came in probably every weekend.

“It's nice to meet you,” he said politely.

Jasper sat on the last bar stool at the end of the bar, next to Annabelle. He was so tall, his body barely had to dip down to rest on the high stool. He rested his elbows on the bar. Lisa casually wiped down some equipment, but she kept glancing at him, completely distracted by his appearance including his fangs and his long, white fingers.

“I have to say those are  _ great _ fangs,” she told him. “I'm a little jealous, and I have a whole collection of fang prosthetics.”

His laugh had an amused growl in it. He had never been complimented on his fangs before, at least not by a mortal, and to top it off Lisa seemed to think they were fake. He touched his tongue to them. If only he could take them out, or even retract them a little like other Kindred seemed to be able to. “Thank you.”

Annabelle shot him another massive 'I told you so!' expression and gave him a gentle, playful nudge. “He was shy about coming out,” she told Lisa.

“Aww, come on,” Lisa chuckled. “I know this place is a little kooky, but that's what makes it fun!” She rose her fingers to make air quotes. “We're all mad here.”

Jasper noticed a look pass between the two women. It could roughly be transcribed as, from Lisa to Annabelle:

“DAMN, GIRL!”

And then in reply:

“I KNOW, RIGHT?”

Jasper shook his head, bemused and still partly in disbelief.

“See, I told you,” Annabelle reminded him.

He sighed. “Yes, you did.”

“Everything is  _ fine _ ,” Annabelle smiled.

“Also, I must thank you, Jasper,” Lisa added. “Annabelle says you saved her life.”

Jasper gave Annabelle a glare. She shrugged.

“Yeah, I did,” he admitted. “And now  _ everyone _ knows about it, apparently.”

“Well, I'm glad she's got a big, strong protector out there.” Lisa winked.

“She can take are of herself,” Jasper smirked. “Usually.”

Annabelle blushed pink, but smiled confidently. “Yeah.”

“Oh, I'm sure!” Lisa agreed. “Still, one can never be too careful. So, do you guys want a cocktail, or are you just here for the scenery?”

“I'll have one, please,” Annabelle requested, her Blush of Life allowing her to do so.

Jasper, with his lack of it, could not. He shook his head. “No, thank you. Apparently, I'm just scenery.”

“Well, then be sure to sit there and look pretty while I whip up something,” Lisa gave them both a cheeky smile and started to work on a spin of the Vampire's Kiss cocktail she had made for Annabelle in the past.

Jasper leaned over to whisper in Annabelle's ear, “You're not paying her to say things like that, are you?”

Annabelle giggled. “No!”

“Ah, so it's like Victor then, with all his  _ compliments _ .”

“No, Jasper! And Victor's comments to you come from a good place, he just doesn't express himself well. No, I think she legitimately likes you! No mind tricks, no nothing. This is _ real _ .”

Lisa gave Annabelle her drink. “You two are cute, whispering away.”

“Thank you,” Annabelle said, a tiny bit embarrassed at having being caught whispering. “How much do I owe you again, for the drink?”

She gave her a playfully admonishing look. “I try to tell you, you don't pay here!”

“But Lisa-” Annabelle protested.

“It's hot girl pricing,” she cut her off. “I don't make the rules.” Lisa threw her hands up in the air in mock resignation.

Jasper snickered, fangs flashing. He had been eyeing the bartender closely, looking for any sign that she wasn't genuine about her reactions or feelings and finding none. Well, this was going to be interesting, indeed.

“Um, thank you,” Annabelle said, flattered.

“Honestly, the two of you have such a great look coming in tonight, it's wasted on this crowd,” Lisa commented. “All the folks with the good prosthetics and tattoos tend to come out on weekends.”

That confirmed Jasper's suspicions. He half wondered what she would think if she found out the truth, not that she ever would. “Yeah, well... one might say I don't get out very often,” he said, not unfriendly.

“Now, that's a real shame,” Lisa turned to Annabelle. “Annabelle, you should bring him here more!”

Annabelle giggled, feeling the faint buzz of alcohol in her head from the cocktail. “I told him you'd like him, but he didn't believe me.”

“For good reason,” Jasper reminded her softly.

“Yes, but...” Annabelle gestured to Lisa. “She doesn’t seem to mind!” She looked around at the rest of the bar. “No one else seems to care either.” Indeed, Jasper's unusual appearance had caused little stir in this establishment.

“Mind what?” Lisa inquired. “That you have a thing for body mods?” She sighed. “I wish more of my customers would go this hard core. It's great for business.”

Jasper grinned, showing his fangs. “Oh, I'm hard core alright.”

Annabelle poked his ribs. He ignored her.

Lisa gave him a deeply flirty look. “I bet.”

Jasper swallowed. Save for Annabelle, no one had looked at him like that in a very long time. Annabelle drank her cocktail, her eyes darting mischievously back and forth between Lisa and Jasper.

The sound of a glass hitting the floor from a table behind Jasper and Annabelle broke the tension. “Oh, he  _ is _ shy,” Lisa observed. “Excuse me, I'll be right back.” She grabbed a cloth and darted out from behind the bar to clean up the spilled drink and broken glass. They were temporarily left alone.

“So...” Annabelle prompted. “What do you think?”

“I think she doesn't know what she's getting herself into, or  _ trying _ to get herself into.”

“I think she likes you, genuinely, and I think that, if we ended up back at her place later like we did last time, she would want you to be there, present and involved.”

“I don't know... I'm kind of a mood killer.”

Annabelle looked him steady in the eye and put a hand on his knee. “You've never killed  _ my _ mood. Stop selling yourself short and just trust this, okay?”

Lisa returned to the bar, getting rid of the broken glass in a bin. “Well, if anything is a sign for last call, that's it! We need to find less elaborate glassware for this place.”

“Aww...” Annabelle pouted.

“Don't rush. You know it can take me a really long time to close up, especially when I have good company.”

Annabelle gave Lisa a flirty smile.

As people moved about, other customers paying their tabs and exiting the bar as the staff cleaned and prepared to close, Jasper kept his face down and his hood low. This was done mostly out of habit.

“I'm so glad you came back tonight,” he heard Lisa say to Annabelle, “and brought such intriguing company.”

He smirked again, despite himself, licking his fangs.

“I'm glad too,” Annabelle said. “I wanted to thank you again for the talk last night.”

“Everyone needs to talk sometimes, that's what I'm here for.”

“You're so sweet!”

Jasper heard Lisa turn to address him. “I must admit I'm curious though... why are you trying to hide, Jasper?”

“I um...” He licked his fangs as he considered what to tell her. He settled on something close to the truth. “I have a skin condition, and... not everyone is as nice as you are when they see me for the first time, or at all.”

“People are jerks then!” Lisa declared. “Sorry to bring it up. I can't seem to resist trying to talk people out of their clothes.”

Annabelle, who had been waiting for Lisa to say something like this, burst into giggles. Jasper snickered and growled, shaking his head. What was it with these two and trying to get him naked? “No, you don't want that. Trust me.”

Lisa arched a sceptical eyebrow.

Jasper caught Annabelle about to say something cheeky and glared at her. “I'm... just going to sneak off to the ladies room for a minute,” Annabelle said instead. She left her empty glass on the bar and disappeared into the back, leaving Lisa and Jasper alone. Jasper stared at her, perhaps deliberately trying to creep her out a little. It wasn't working.

“You've got a good one there,” Lisa nodded towards the direction Annabelle left the room in. “We don't mean to tease, you know.”

“Yeah... she's a good one alright,” Jasper agreed. It was a massive understatement. He knew how lucky he was.

“You should trust her judgement. She told us we'd get along, and she was right.”

Jasper smiled. Things had gone better so far than he thought they would. “She sometimes says things without thinking first, but in this instance, yes, she was correct. I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I think she's going to ask you out tonight.”

“Really now? And how do you feel about that?”

In this instance, he didn't mind. If Annabelle feeds, he feeds. He smiled, showing fang. “I approve.”

“Dare I ask what you'll be doing when we go out?”

“I'll probably be with you... if that's alright... or I can wait outside.”

Lisa smiled at him. “Don't you  _ dare _ wait outside.”

He smiled back.

Annabelle reappeared, having gotten rid of the cocktail in the bathroom and with her Blush of Life still intact. “I hope you two got along.”

“We were about to start a bar fight,” Lisa joked.

Annabelle tisked and glared playfully at Jasper, who cannot look innocent, though he tried. “Good thing I stepped in, then,” she said.

Lisa gathered her keys and bag, finalising everything she needed to do to close up the bar for the night. “I'm about done here.”

Annabelle glanced quickly at Jasper, then spoke up. “Um, we'd love to hang out with you some more if you don't have anything on for the rest of the night.”

Lisa smiled and gave Jasper a cheeky glance. “I thought you'd never ask. Where to?”

“Back to your place?” Annabelle suggested, not wanting to impose, but knowing they couldn't easily go anywhere else. “It's closest... if that's okay?”

“Of course!”

Lisa finished locking up and led the two of them back to her little apartment. The air was cool and refreshing.

“So, when did you get into blood kink stuff?” Annabelle asked.

Lisa chuckled. “Well, it sort of evolved. I did the teenage goth thing, reading about fantasy creatures and vampires. Then I met a mysterious boy who wanted to make the game a little more real. I did some research, tried some stuff, and honestly I was hooked after that.”

Annabelle and Jasper shared a concerned look with each other. They were both on the same page. A 'mysterious boy' was a bit of a red flag. There was genuine concern now, that Lisa might know more than she was saying, or even that she was someone's Ghoul.

“Who was he?” Annabelle asked, a little nervous.

Lisa's answer didn't help. “Just some guy I was kind of seeing. I met him at a party somewhere. Young people with kinks are kind of magnets,” she chuckled.

“Have you ever tried anyone's blood before?” Jasper asked.

“Oh yeah!” Lisa said with enthusiasm. “It's nice. Sort of... coppery,” she licked her lips and winked. “But I still think it's more fun to play the victim, personally.”

Jasper and Annabelle shared another look. That didn't necessarily sound like someone who had tasted Kindred Vitae before. They tended to be a little more ashamed of how good it tasted.

“I haven't done the drinking in a long while,” Lisa added.

“How long has it been?” Annabelle asked.

“Um...” she thought back. “Like a year? Maybe more?”

Annabelle glanced at Jasper, still not a hundred percent sure on all the rules of ghouling. Jasper looked relieved and shook his head. Lisa was fine, just kinky. Annabelle smiled in relief and slipped her hand into Lisa's as they walked.

“We're both kind of more the biting type,” she said.

Jasper had to fight to hold his tongue and keep his face neutral.

“Works for me!” Lisa smiled.

“Do you think, like... could there be real vampires out there?” Annabelle asked. Jasper knew what she was doing. This was a test.

“Ha! Wouldn't that be nice? But I suspect I'd have found some by now, given my industry.”

Jasper couldn’t hold back his grin any more. “Well... don't stop looking.”

“Of course not!”

“In the meantime, we have our pretend,” Annabelle added.

“Indeed.”

They reached Lisa's apartment building and went up to her door. Lisa unlocked it and invited them in, but Jasper hesitated in the hall.

“Hey, don't be nervous,” Lisa said gently. “Come in if you like, go home if it's a bit much. No judgement, right Annabelle?”

Annabelle reached and took Jasper's hand. He had gotten used to feeling her touch and letting it ground him. “Right. No judgement at all.”

In other words, remember we don't care how scary you look, we don't want you to miss out on what could be a good time.

“Welcome to the Smallest Castle!” Lisa declared, showing them her tiny two-room place.

Jasper looked around, pretending to see it for the first time. Last time he was here, it was while watching Annabelle and Lisa together while he was cloaked with Obfuscate. He took in the shelves with the gothic and fantasy literature, the large wrought iron bed and tiny kitchen. The lights were dim and romantic. “Very nice.”

Lisa put down her keys and purse and removed her coat, revealing a very tiny, tight, black goth dress that showed a lot of skin.

“Ooo,” Annabelle said, openly admiring her. “So... do we have a plan or anything?” She asked, flirtatious.

Lisa drifted close to the bed. “Well, right now, I'd like to get out of this dress, and I'd like you two to come and join me.”

“Would you be okay if we did something similar to last time?” Annabelle asked.

“I'd be more than eager to repeat that, yes.”

“I am  _ so _ down for that, but...” Annabelle glanced at Jasper.

He had been standing still, watching. He was reminded of how he felt at the Succubus Club before Victoria Ashe took it upon herself to have some fun with his mind and free will. He was still reluctant to join in, although part of him was starting to want to. Maybe that was Annabelle's blood, pulling at him. Here was a willing mortal who said that they did not mind his appearance. Talking was done and now was the time for action. He must be dreaming, surely.

“I don't...” he paused, tongue to fangs, “get many opportunities to...” he gestured with a long hand to Lisa, reclined on the bed, “...be with people like you.”

“We should change that, if and when you're ready,” Lisa said. “Perhaps Annabelle and I can get things started?” She reached out to Annabelle, encouraging her to come to the bed.

Annabelle glanced at Jasper again, and he read on her face a little bit of lingering anxiety about the events of last night. He nodded to her, encouraging. This was a very different situation to what had happened with Mark, after all. Annabelle smiled and joined Lisa on the bed.

The two women began to kiss and touch each other. Slowly at first, then with increasing urgency, items of clothing were removed and discarded to the floor or just pushed to the side of the bed. Jasper watched, feeling like he was giving in once again to the creepy Nosferatu stereotype. It had taken him a long time to feel comfortable being any kind of intimate with Annabelle. As jealous as it could make him, he did like seeing her have fun though. Soon, the two women were just down their underthings. Lustful sighs and moans filled the room.

Jasper noticed Lisa make eye contact with him and gesture him over. He sat on the edge of the bed. Annabelle, who had been nibbling Lisa's neck and ear, paused when she felt his weight on the mattress. “Would you like him to join in?” she asked Lisa in a husky voice.

“Desperately,” Lisa replied with lustful hunger.

Jasper snarled low in his throat. Annabelle's blood was calling to him almost as strongly as Lisa's eyes were.

“You can't scare me off,” Lisa smiled.

Jasper cleared his throat. “Are you sure? Most people think I'm a scary guy.”

“Mmm...” Lisa moaned. “You say that like it's a bad thing.”

“It usually is, but... it seems there are exceptions to the rule.”

“Mm-hmm,” Lisa reached out a hand to his and touched him. His skin was very cold compared to hers and no where near as soft or lovely to the touch, but he resisted the urge to pull away. He treated her touch as another test, watching her face for any sign of disgust. If she felt any, it was hard to tell.

“Oh, wow, you run cold. That's fun,” she commented.

“Never been called 'fun' before,” Jasper smirked.

“Contrast can be fun. Scary can be fun,” Lisa's hand drifted up to Jasper's elbow and she tried to pull him a little closer. She also tried to find the hemline of his hoodie and reach under it. He gently but firmly moved her hand away in silent but absolute denial.

“Oh, trust me,” Annabelle said with a little purr, “he can be  _ very _ fun when he wants to be.” Jasper could see that the erotic energy of the scene was having an effect on Annabelle. “And don't worry. It took me  _ months _ to see what he looks like under there.” She undid Lisa's bra and it came away to be lost somewhere in the dark room.

Jasper snarled again, surprising himself with how hungry he sounded.

Lisa noticed. “Mmm… I bet we wants to be over here where you are.”

Part of him did. He couldn’t deny that. They wanted him to join in, but half a decade of nearly everyone outside of a small, select group, reacting with revulsion at his appearance is a hell of a mental wall to break down. He included himself in the ‘repulsed’ group. Oh, sure, other Nosferatu didn’t care, X didn't mind, Victor kept telling him he had a 'look' that he could make work, Eva certainly didn't mind, and Annabelle... well, Annabelle had grown very fond of him regardless. Still, he resisted, as if waiting for a punchline to a cruel joke at his own expense.

When Jasper still would not take the bait, Annabelle sat up. She was wearing a cute set of bra and panties this night. She could sense his plight, she knowing him perhaps better than most. In circumstances like this, in the presence of people more physically beautiful and naked than himself, he would be very uncomfortable. She had an idea. Annabelle knew just how amazing and confidant Jasper could be when in familiar territory, and perhaps expecting him to get intimate like this with a mortal stranger really was too big of an ask. It simply was not his style. “Jasper, maybe... you could do things to me, and then I could do things to Lisa?”

“Maybe.” He did feel a little more comfortable with that suggestion. He knew Annabelle's body, knew her blood, and that familiarity would be welcome right now. He smirked at the two mostly nude women.

Lisa leaned in to stage whisper to Annabelle. “You should make him feel more...  _ comfortable _ .”

Annabelle moved, crawling over Lisa and towards Jasper. She gently put her arms around him and he relaxed minutely, but visibly. “You okay?” she asked him. “Too much?”

“A little,” he admitted.

“It's alright. Nothing bad is going to happen,” Annabelle assured him. She pulled Jasper gently but firmly further onto the bed, letting him rest in the middle against the wrought iron foot board. She expected him to protest or pull away, but he didn't. He did want this, he just needed a push. Annabelle, always a woman of action, was that push.

“Pretend we're at home, on your bed,” she suggested, stroking her hands down Jasper's lean, unbreathing chest. “What would you want to do to me if we were at home?”

Jasper looked into her eyes, saw the trust, desire and care for him there. He knew  _ exactly _ what he would do to Annabelle if they were back at his sanctum right now. He would ravish her until she lay panting and senseless on the bed.

Annabelle turned around, presenting her bare back to Jasper. It reminded him a little bit of the first time he had fed from her neck. It seemed like a long time ago now. Annabelle winked at Lisa, who was sitting still at the head of the bed. Lisa remained quiet, but watched them avidly.

Jasper forced himself to relax as he touched Annabelle's back. He could feel her magically induced breathing and heartbeat. His Beast stirred like Pavlov's dog hearing a bell. Annabelle was offering herself and her Vitae to him once again. This was certainly familiar ground at this point. He adjusted his posture and seating on the bed, looming tall over Annabelle's petite frame. He stroked his hands down her shoulders and arms, feeling the goosebumps he gave her. Jasper glanced up and saw Lisa watching them, arousal plain on her face. He smirked a little. He wasn't used to putting on a show, but with Annabelle there, warm and inviting under his caress, her Vitae calling to him through their Blood Bond, he did feel a little bolder. In the darkness of the room, he was mostly just a sinister black shape behind Annabelle.

Annabelle reached across to Lisa and guided the bartender's hand to her leg, inviting her to continue touching her as well. She gladly took her up on that, stroking Annabelle all over her front with both hands. She moved in slow, sensual gestures, stroking thigh and stomach up to breasts and back down. She kept her hands away from Jasper's, as a mark of respect. Annabelle sighed in pleasure, enjoying all the attention.

Jasper bent and brushed Annabelle's long hair a little out of the way. He normally went for the side of her neck with the undercut, but he wanted to try to hide what he was doing from Lisa. He nuzzled her there, at the hidden crook of her neck behind her hair and, very,  _ very _ gently so as not to break the skin yet, scraped her with his fangs.

Annabelle shivered noticeably and smiled.

“I bet you feel like a Toreador now, huh?” Jasper whispered very faintly in Annabelle's ear. Being pulled into the action seemed to have done the trick in loosening him up. Lisa continued to stroke and tease Annabelle's front. “This is all very naughty, but thank you... for your encouragement.”

Annabelle smiled again, her eyes drifting closed. Lisa saw an opportunity when Jasper pulled back a little and reached around behind Annabelle to unclasp and remove her bra. Annabelle's bra became lost somewhere in the darkness with the rest of the women’s clothing. Jasper growled in approval. His hands moved to Annabelle's hips, his long fingers pressing against her mound that was still covered in underwear. He snuck a finger or two from one hand under the waistband. Annabelle flinched at his cold touch, but remained trapped between Lisa and Jasper.

Jasper found his place on Annabelle's neck again, behind her hair, and opened his mouth with a gentle snarl to bite. His long fangs found their home in her tender flesh and Annabelle stiffened and gasped in pain.

Lisa blinked up at them, distracted for a moment from the teasing she had been doing to Annabelle's nipples. Her eyes widened, not in fear, but in growing arousal at what she was witnessing. Jasper's face was hidden, and she couldn’t see what he was doing exactly, but the effect it had on Annabelle's body was immediate and sensual.

To help hide Annabelle’s reaction to the bite, Jasper's hand and fingers crept lower under Annabelle's panties until he found what he was looking for. She was soaked. He rubbed her as he drank, drawing out her Vitae in slow, deliberate swallows. Annabelle moaned loudly. Lisa moved a little to the side of Annabelle opposite to where Jasper was and trailed kisses up her arm and shoulder. One of Lisa's hands remained on a bare breast, teasing Annabelle with fingers and thumb.

Very quickly, Annabelle's senses became overwhelmed with pleasure. The gentle but unrelenting hands stroking her in her most sensitive areas seemed to double or triple the sensations rolling through her from the vampiric Kiss. After only a minute of this, she screamed, her body twitching uncontrollably in a powerful climax.

Lisa's mouth moved to kiss and suck at Annabelle's breast, expertly prolonging the orgasm. Jasper growled in his own pleasure, his other hand helping to keep Annabelle still. His Beast purred in his chest as he tasted the lust and power in Annabelle's blood. He could keep going, finish the last drop and then move onto Lisa. Neither of them would stop him...

Jasper forced himself to cease. He extracted his fangs and tenderly licked Annabelle's skin to close the wound. Annabelle shivered, moaning and trembling. Lisa withdrew, watching the two of them in naked and unabashed awe and lust. Annabelle was breathing hard, eyes still closed. Jasper slowly removed his hand from her panties, deliberately stroking her clit one last time on the way out. Annabelle trembled again with a shuddering gasp. With his Beast mostly satisfied and his pride and self-confidence completely restored, Jasper locked eyes with Lisa over Annabelle's shoulder. He gave her an evil smile as he licked the last remains of blood off his teeth.

To his surprise, Lisa returned the smile with one just as bold and naughty. He was pleased. Lisa was indeed a rare find. Jasper promised himself never to doubt Annabelle's ideas when it came to things like this ever again.

Annabelle leaned bonelessly back against Jasper's body, trying to get her breath back. When Jasper put his arms around her, he noticed again just how very naked she was. Though he had experienced a lot of Annabelle's body, her bare chest had been a threshold he had not yet crossed until now. He looked down at her approvingly. He knew he hadn’t been the one to remove Annabelle's bra. He arched an accusatory eyebrow at Lisa who smiled and shrugged her own very naked shoulders. Lisa held Annabelle's hand and stroked her knee gently as she came down from her orgasmic high.

Emboldened by the endorphins in his system and not wanting Annabelle or her starving Beast to miss an opportunity, Jasper snarled in Annabelle's ear to get her attention. “Annabelle?” It was loud enough for Lisa to hear. Jasper could see the bartender’s breath quicken and the flush of arousal to her skin. His cold eyes were still very much on her, giving her a look that may have terrified just about any other mortal, like a predator savouring the last moments of a trapped prey animal's life.

“Mmm?” Annabelle sighed, eyes still closed.

“Are you hungry?” Jasper growled. He knew the answer. She was  _ always _ hungry after he fed from her. It was an unavoidable consequence.

Lisa gave a noticeable shiver of fear and arousal. If she were Kindred, Jasper decided, she would always be more than welcome to join in the little games he and Annabelle played. As it was, the Masquerade had to be maintained, more or less. Lisa made a bold move and gently touched Annabelle's cheek, running a finger playfully down her jaw line.

“Mm-hmm...” Annabelle's eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Lisa, exposed and inviting, drawing Annabelle's attention to her. Jasper removed his arms from around Annabelle as he felt her pull forwards away from him. There was a hungry tension in her muscles as she moved to obey her Beast's desires. “I want to taste you...” she breathed lustfully at Lisa.

“Yes, please...” Lisa whimpered.

With the smallest of encouraging nudges on her back from Jasper, Annabelle pounced. She pinned Lisa down to the mattress, hands on her shoulders, her small but powerful body straddling Lisa's curvy hips. Her mouth imminently went to Lisa's throat and bit down into the willing, tender flesh. Lisa clung to Annabelle's back, writhing and moaning in pain and pleasure. Jasper watched over them, his lips curved in a little smile. He was mostly out of Lisa's sight, looming like a nightmare in the darkness. He placed a pale hand on Annabelle's back, stroking her spine up and down as she fed. Lisa's moans eventually changed in pitch and she clenched, trembling for a moment, then cried out loudly as her pleasure reached its own zenith.

After only a few seconds that felt more like hours, Annabelle pulled back and licked Lisa's wound closed. She planted little kisses on Lisa's lips and face as the mortal woman sighed and moaned softly. Jasper shifted again, pressing a leg gently against Lisa's side, one hand still on Annabelle's back. He was still smiling.

“ _ Damn _ ...” Lisa exhaled after a moment. “You two are  _ definitely  _ fun...”

Jasper snickered. Annabelle rolled off her and stretched. “Thank you,” she said. “I think we're lucky to know someone like you.” She reached for Jasper's hand and gave it a squeeze. “Right?”

“Yes,” he agreed. He considered the post-orgasmic mortal laying next to him for a moment, one final doubt still lingering in the back of his brain. Very rarely do things ever go this well, in his experience. “Are you sure you're not being mind controlled?”

Annabelle giggled and Lisa chuckled. “Not that I'm aware of? If I am, it's been going on since birth,” she gestured vaguely to a large book shelf of gothic fantasy literature.

“Hmm,” Jasper looked at the books on the shelf. He gave up on questioning all this. Lisa the bartender at a vampire bar was obviously just one of those kinky people who were into this kind of thing. No more, no less. She thought that he and Annabelle were into the same blood drinking 'fake' vampire kink. The Masquerade was intact, and both he and Annabelle had gotten to feed. He smiled at her. “As I've said, this kind of thing doesn't happen to people like me very often,” he explained softly to Lisa. He wasn't personally friendly with any other Kindred in his clan, but he was certain they would nearly all envy his position right now. “So... if you are genuine, then thank you, Lisa. I had a fun time.”

Annabelle had recovered enough to go and fetch Lisa a glass of water. “I think she  _ is _ genuine, Jasper. I think you turn her on!”

He laughed, fangs flashing. “No, I think that's you,” he said to Annabelle.

Lisa laughed and propped herself up a little to look Jasper square in the eye. “You  _ seriously _ still think I don't want you here too?” She had a stern, almost teacher-like tone. “I know people have been jerks to you about how you look, but believe me when I say it's  _ perfect _ for me. Yeah, you're scary.  _ I like scary _ . And I can tell that you are also  _ much _ more naughty than you let on.” She winked at him and lay back down on the bed, exhausted. “Annabelle!” she called. “Please bring him back here  _ any time _ !”

Jasper let himself grin. He felt stupid now for doubting earlier. Still, he wasn’t sure how Lisa would react if she knew the real truth though. Would she still be into it? Something in him decided that yeah, she probably would be.

Annabelle returned with the water for Lisa. She passed her the glass and snuggled up back to Jasper. “I _ told _ you there were people out there who were into this.”

Lisa drank the water gratefully. “Thanks. I'm always so wiped after you come over. Talk about a work out!”

“You might want to think about calling in sick tomorrow, if you're still dizzy later,” Annabelle advised.

“I'm sure the other staff would love that,” she said sarcastically.

Something else crossed Jasper's mind. Lisa had taken him and Annabelle into her home with very few questions asked and and been willing to do things with them that could be considered quite foolish or dangerous. Nothing bad had happened this time, but what if a truly low humanity vampire walked into that bar and Lisa took them home? What then? Hell, Jasper knew he was more than capable of creating such a tragedy, if he so desired. If he had fewer qualms about hurting innocent people, he might have. “You should really reconsider the next time you bring someone home, Lisa,” he said softly.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, because… I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you do this kind of thing fairly often?”

Lisa nodded with a sly little smile.

“I could have been a very dangerous person,” Jasper scolded gently, “and you could have gotten very hurt. I mean... Annabelle and I wouldn’t  _ want _ to hurt you, but...” he shrugged. Even with he and Annabelle being as careful and considerate as they could be, there was always still the chance that they could lose control and their Beasts would take things too far. “Someone else might hurt you, and you brought us into your home without even knowing really who either of us are.”

Annabelle was quiet, listening. She found herself agreeing with everything and squeezed Lisa's hand.

Lisa had also been listening, and thinking about what he said. “Yeah, I guess the bar scene has made me a little less careful sometimes. It's a jungle out there.” She sighed. “Point taken, but the dating scene sucks when you work my hours.”

“Aww,” Annabelle sympathised. She lay down to give Lisa a little hug.

“Yeah, well...” Jasper found a bra, he wasn't sure whose, and lifted it up with one long finger hooked around the elastic shoulder strap. He looked at it curiously, his train of thought derailed for a moment. “Just... be careful, okay?” He gently tossed the bra towards the two women to let them sort out who it belonged to.

“I guess I've gotten lucky so far,” Lisa admitted

“Would you like us to come back some time?” Annabelle asked.

“ _ Yes _ , I want you both here.”

Jasper have Annabelle a stern look. “We shouldn’t. You know why.”

“But...” Annabelle pouted, gesturing to both her and Lisa, still mostly nude, in bed. Lisa joined in the pouting.

Jasper sighed and growled, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. In that moment, he felt weak as Annabelle's blood tugged at him.“Well...” He glared sternly at her. “If you are  _ good _ , we  _ might _ come back.”

Annabelle bit her lip at this little display of his dominant side. “Okay.” She shared a look with Lisa and determined she was thinking someone very similar. Lisa wanted to see more of this side of Jasper too.

“Yes, Annabelle, you should be really,  _ really _ good, please,” Lisa urged.

Annabelle nodded. Jasper found the other discarded bra and passed it over to them. The two women re-dressed, with Lisa getting into sleepwear. “I'm guessing you two have to go soon?” Lisa asked.

“What time is it?” Annabelle asked.

Lisa checked. “3:30.”

“We could stay a little longer?” Annabelle suggested, glancing at Jasper.

He snarled faintly. “And do what?” He wanted to take Annabelle home, to have time with her alone before dawn.

“Well...” Annabelle looked back at Lisa and smiled suggestively.

“I'm cool with any scenario where I don't have to leave this bed,” she said.

“Annabelle,” Jasper sighed, standing.

“He's right,” Lisa said. “You should go home and get some sleep.”

Annabelle sighed and gave in. “Okay.” She shrugged back into her jacket and gave Lisa a kiss on the cheek. “We had a really good time though. Thank you.”

“Good,” Lisa smiled with great affection. “You know where to find me.”

“Can I get your number?”

Jasper frowned at Annabelle, but didn't stop her. He was concerned about Lisa becoming one more mortal in their lives they were going to have to care about. He felt they had enough on their plates already. He waited quietly by the door.

Lisa grabbed some paper from her bedside table and scribbled down her number. Annabelle gave hers as well. “Be sure to use it!” Lisa said.

Annabelle nodded. “I will!” She joined Jasper at the door.

“See you next time,” Lisa smiled.

“Yeah, see you,” Annabelle said.

“Thank you,” Jasper said, genuinely glad that nothing truly bad did happen during this whole encounter. He put his hand on the door knob, but stopped and looked back at Lisa. “One more thing though...”

She blinked curiously at him.

“Please don't tell anyone about this,” he said in a strong 'don't make me hurt you' tone.

“Of course. I get that you're private.” Lisa nodded. “I keep my secrets.”

“It's okay,” Annabelle assured him.

Jasper wished he had the mind wiping powers Victor did, but short of giving Lisa a concussion, there wasn't anything he could do to guarantee their security. He licked his fangs one last time in consideration. “Alright.”

“Good night, Lisa,” Annabelle waved.

Jasper opened the door and waved as well as Lisa bade them a good night.

They walked back to his sanctum, holding hands all the way.


	3. Reflections and Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabelle has a gift for Jasper and he gives her something in return.

Jasper could feel Annabelle's happiness as they walked home through the cool Los Angeles night. She was practically buzzing with it.

“Okay, so... two things,” she said. “One-”

“Annabelle, if you say 'I told you so,' one more time, I swear to God-”

“ _I_ _told you so_!”

Jasper groaned and rolled his eyes so hard his head tilted back. The light pollution masked most of the stars. “Yes... you did,” he sighed.

Annabelle completely ignored Jasper's exasperation. “And two, that was a lot of fun and I really think Lisa liked you.”

“Well, she said she did.”

She gave his hand a squeeze. “And she would have no reason to lie.”

“It was fun, though, yes,” Jasper admitted. “Hopefully no one else finds out about her.”

“I'll be so mad if they do,” Annabelle mumbled.

“Me too.”

They walked in silence for some time, enjoying the night and each other's company. They didn't feel awkward in their silence any more. The streets were as quiet as they ever were around 3:30 am in L.A., but there were few enough people around that Jasper felt it was okay to not have Obfuscate up.

As they neared the college, about to turn to walk towards the river, Annabelle hesitated. “Can we swing by my place quickly? Please? I... well, I wasn't sure if you'd want me to sleep over because I thought you were still mad at me. I left some stuff at home and I want to go get it. Just, like, one or two things. I'll be quick, I promise.”

Jasper shrugged. “Yeah, sure.” They still had some time before dawn, time enough for this, anyway. They turned towards Annabelle's housing on campus.

He waited outside while Annabelle dashed in to get whatever it was she wanted to get. Jasper assumed it was her laptop and possibly her phone charger, maybe more of those little battery operated candles too. He leaned against a low wall, listening to the distant traffic and other sounds of the night and thinking over everything that had happened that night and the one previous.

He and Annabelle had been on an emotional roller-coaster for the past while. First, there was the ongoing tension between the Anarchs and the Camarilla. He had painted a nice, big target on his back when he decapitated the old Sheriff. Though at this moment he felt reasonably safe, he knew he had to keep vigilant for any sign that he might have to disappear for both his own safety, and the safety of everyone else. Jasper did not want to do that. He liked where he was and what he had been doing, and it would pain him to lose it. Also, he knew Annabelle would worry about him. He knew he wouldn't be able to help worrying about her as well. She was strong and tough, but she would be up against Kindred decades or centuries older and more powerful than her. They were going to have to be very, very careful.

Then, of course, there was also all the intimate steps he had taken with Annabelle recently. He smiled to think of it; of his mouth, hands and fingers on and inside her body. She sure seemed to enjoy it. It was difficult to hide her desires from him, both through their Blood Bond and also just from pure body language. He thought they had done a surprisingly good job of hiding their relationship from the rest of the coterie, though. Even with Nelli’s keen senses and social understanding, so far as they knew, their secret was safe.

Jasper frowned and growled to himself. Their secret _had_ been safe, but then Ramona just _had_ to send one of her little spies in. Jasper was still pissed off about that. It was very nearly one invasion of his privacy too far. He thought about asking Eva or other Tremere about how to do wards. If that was something he could learn, he could secure his place once and for all, against anyone and everyone except for Annabelle and himself.

His thoughts circled back to his feelings for Annabelle and himself. She really did make him feel like less of a monster, less of a horrible sewer-dwelling creature. The hours they had just spent with Lisa, the mortal vampire kink bartender, had helped to prove this. He remembered Lisa's words to him;

“You _seriously_ still think I don't want you here too? I know people have been jerks to you about how you look, but believe me when I say it's _perfect_ for me. Yeah, you're scary. _I like scary_ . And I can tell that you are also _much_ more naughty than you let on.” And then her demand to Annabelle that she “please bring him back here _any time_!”

He had to stop lying to himself. This was clear proof enough that even someone with the curse of his clan could find someone, or more than one someone, who was still willing to spend time with them in bed. The biggest difference now seemed to be the fact that Annabelle could use Blush of Life to make herself seem warm and alive once again and could make her body react to the sexual arousal she felt. He could not. His heart hadn't beaten in five years. His body hadn't felt warm, hadn't breathed or reacted to sexual arousal in all that time either.

Maybe the time to change that was coming.

But not yet. Not tonight.

It was something to think about in any case. Just because he was a Nosferatu, didn't mean he had to continue to deny himself physical pleasures, especially not when they were being willingly offered to him.

It was definitely something to think about.

Maybe that was one of the reasons why he had gotten so mad at the situation last night with the shower and Mark coming home. On top of the fact that Jasper had almost been caught in a rare moment of extreme vulnerability, he had seen how Annabelle reached to her boyfriend, how they had embraced and how she had willingly joined in in the shower. It was easy to assume what had happened next. Jasper believed that Annabelle deserved someone like Mark – someone warm, strong, handsome and romantic. Their song was _'Unforgettable,'_ for crying out loud. That just oozed a kind of charm that Jasper had lost a long time ago. It was a reminder of everything he had lost, everything he was fooling himself into thinking he might be able to have again.

Well, there wasn't a lot about his present physical situation he could change. He supposed other Nosferatu could, but that was not the path he had chosen for himself. He might not be... classically handsome any more, and his body was cold and dead, but he was still capable of giving someone else pleasure. There were still things he could do to make a partner moan and gasp in bed, or against a wall, or wherever. Now that he was reminded of that fact, he didn't want to lose this. He had no idea how long his relationship with Annabelle would last, nor what forces would come to pull them apart. Perhaps they would be separated in the oncoming war, or something could cause one or the other of them to move away. It was sad to think about, but Jasper had a practical mind. He doubted they would still be together ten years from now, not if things kept being as chaotic as they were in the dangerous world of Kindred politics. But he was determined to have as much of a good time with her has he could, while he could.

On the other hand, he had never heard of a Nosferatu with Blush of Life before. What if it was something he wouldn’t be able to do at all?

Annabelle emerged from her home, pausing to lock the door. Jasper put a mental pin in his thoughts and gave her a little smile. She returned to Jasper's side with a bag slung over her shoulder. He noticed that she had an odd little smile, like she was hiding an excited secret and couldn't wait to tell him.

“You get what you need?” he asked.

“Yup!”

They started walking again, heading towards the L.A. River and Jasper's home.

“What's up? You seem really excited,” Jasper asked.

“I have something for you.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Yeah? What?”

“A surprise.”

Jasper frowned, suspicious. “...Okay.”

She smiled, enjoying keeping a secret from him for once. “I'll show you when we get to your place.”

“Is it a present?”

“Yeah.”

His brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Do I need a reason?”

“I don't get gifts very often, or at all, really.”

“Well... I found something I thought you'd like and I want to give it to you.”

“Well... thank you.”

“Don't thank me yet. You haven't seen it. I think you'll like it though,” she said hopefully.

Jasper's thoughts raced, not only with ideas about what Annabelle might have gotten him, but with a sudden urge to get Annabelle something too. Buying her something was more or less out of the question. He didn't have a lot of money. He glanced at her, and decided that she wasn't one to want many fancy things anyway. Her only jewellery had come from her other partners. That gave him an idea. He might not be able to buy her anything, but he could _make_ something.

The first thing Jasper did when they returned to his sanctum was have a quick look around for any more rats. He didn't find any, which was good. Hopefully Ramona would take his warning and Annabelle's pleads seriously. Jasper didn't want to make Ramona his enemy, but that didn't mean he had to sacrifice his and Annabelle's privacy. He hoped this wasn't some kind of revenge scheme of hers to get him back for what happened at her old warehouse. If anything, he had come off far worse after that encounter in any case, what with him falling when the old stairs broke, and then his journey through the window.

“You go get set up and relaxed. I'll be right back,” he told her.

Annabelle was instantly suspicious. “Where are you going? What are you doing?”

“I'm going to make something.”

“What?” she pestered.

He shooed her towards the bedroom. “Just something. Go.”

She pouted adorably, then turned and disappeared into the bedroom.

Jasper went to his closet. He kept old clothing he couldn’t wear any more in a box there alongside clean hoodies and clothes. His fashion needs were simple – basically something comfortable to help him hide in the shadows. Few fancy things, almost no fine fabrics. He rarely threw anything away. Old hoodies or jeans that could no longer be worn could be repurposed as patches or rags and worn-out leather had its uses in his workshop. He selected several old pieces, cutting them into long, thin strips. Then he quickly set to work, braiding them together into a thin, but strong black cord that was a mix of leather and cotton. It was a quick and dirty improvised gift, but it came from the heart. It was a part of him, and something very unique at that. Added bonus, it would be easy to hide. Even if Annabelle wore it in public, it might go unnoticed in the long sleeve of her jacket. It could be hidden in plain sight, just like him.

He found her sitting on the bed wearing his old woolly labradoodle hoodie he had given her some months ago. She had the sleeves bunched up so that her hands could be exposed to scroll on her phone. He noticed she seemed to be wearing _only_ the hoodie. Interesting. She had a small bundle in her lap, hidden on the folds of black fabric. Annabelle had also taken the liberty of turning on some of the battery operated candles scattered around the room. He never used them when she wasn't around. He reflected, not for the first time and likely not for the last either, how nice it was to share his space with someone who wanted to be there and be with him. Annabelle looked up when he came in and smiled.

“Hi,” she said. “Show me what you made!”

Jasper sat on the bed, one hand hidden behind his back. “You're so impatient.”

“You can't just say 'I'm going to make something,' and then disappear and not expect me to ask about it.”

He smiled. That was fair. “Close your eyes and hold out your hand.”

She did so, squeezing her eyes shut and thrusting out her right hand, palm up. He didn't place the black cord he had made in her hand. Instead, he gently tied it around her wrist. She smiled as he did so, guessing what it was. Jasper made the knot as firm and solid as he could. He had judged the length well, not too loose, not to tight. “Okay.”

Annabelle opened her eyes and smiled wildly as she examined the gift. “You made me a friendship bracelet?”

Jasper groaned slightly, realising that yes, that's what it was, and that's what she was going to call it now. He hadn't intended it to be so when he first got the idea, but he couldn’t deny the results. “I guess so. It's really nothing at all fancy. Do you like it?”

“I love it! It's so you,” Annabelle said. She pulled on the cord, making it slide in circles around her wrist. It was the same wrist he had first bit all those months ago. “What's it made from?”

“Old hoodie scraps and things.”

“Then it really _is_ like a part of you. Aww, Jasper. I love it. Thank you,” she leaned over and, before he could pull away, gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Jasper smiled. If he could blush, he would have. He cleared his throat and gestured to the little bundle in her lap. “You're welcome. My turn. What's that?”

“Here,” she handed him a slim black box that had some heft to it when he took it from her. He lifted the lid and gave a pleased little snarl when he saw what was inside. It was a shiny new Swiss Army knife. This one was matte black with silver highlights instead of the traditional red. He lifted it out and examined it carefully.

“It has thirty-three tools and things in it,” Annabelle explained. “A big knife, um, scissors, a screwdriver, a bottle opener...”

“You know, for all those bottles I have that need opening,” he joked, not taking his eyes away from his examination.

“Well, you know, you never know...” she sighed, anxious. “Do you like it?”

“Yes, I do!” Jasper couldn't stop smiling. He found the large blade, almost three inches long, and pulled it open. He looked at it closely, testing the sharpness and satisfied with the results. He could kill someone with it if he had to, not quickly or cleanly, but it would do in a pinch for mortals. It would also be easier to hide it on his person than the larger blade he carried, not that he was going to stop carrying that, of course. The other tools on it could be useful as well, seeing as how it was designed for that kind of thing. You never knew when you needed a small screwdriver or tweezers. “This is very good. Thank, you, Annabelle.” He closed the knife with a satisfying snap.

She smiled, pleased he liked the gift. “I thought of you as soon as I saw it online, and I just had to get it. I didn't know if you had one already or not?”

“No, I didn't.”

“Oh, good. Doubling up on gifts can be so annoying,” she said, fidgeting with the bracelet.

Jasper put the multi-tool away and snuggled up next to her on the bed. They both seemed to sigh as the last bits of tension for the previous evening left. Things were back to being good again.

“I also didn't know if I should wait for your birthday, or…?” Annabelle sighed. The unasked question, was, of course, when Jasper’s birthday was… or had been.

“I haven't had a birthday in five years,” he said softly. He didn't sound sad about that, and he wasn't. Not any more.

Annabelle looked sad though. “No?”

“Dead people don't have birthdays.”

“That's... heartbreaking,” she said honestly.

Jasper put his arm around her and snuggled her close. She tucked herself in neatly under his chin. “Yeah, I guess so,” he admitted. “I just don't think about it any more.”

That wasn't the complete truth. He hadn't been dead long enough to forget things like that, or when he and Chloe had their anniversary, for example, or a dozen other dates on the calendar that had once been important to him. But he _tried_ not to think about them when those dates came around. Those were times when he would often try to go exploring in his labyrinth.

He could sense a wave of sadness and grief coming off of Annabelle and stroked her back. “Don't worry about it. You can think of the knife as a birthday gift if you like. I really like it. Honest.”

She sighed. She still got very upset to think about the life that had been torn away from him, and the one she was in a losing battle fighting to keep for herself. “I'm glad you like it. When was your birthday?”

“I’d rather… not say,” he told her, knowing she would hate that answer.

She did. Annabelle frowned severely at him. Jasper felt a wave of annoyance tinged with anger through their Blood Bond.

“I was born in 1989,” he relented. “But that’s _all_ I’m saying.”

“Okay… fine,” she agreed. Annabelle wanted to say more, something about how young Jasper was when he died and how sad that was, but she knew he knew that already. The same was true for her, after all.

Jasper nuzzled the top of her head and changed the subject. “Did you bring your computer?”

“Yes.”

“We have enough time to watch the first episode of Westworld if you want to,” he suggested.

“Mmm... okay,” she agreed, and pulled away to set up her laptop.

Later, when the sun rose over the City of Angels, both Annabelle and Jasper reflected as they fell asleep that for the first time in a long time of her sleeping in Jasper's sanctum, Annabelle's Beast was content in her chest. She might wake up a little hungry, but regardless, she would wake up happy. Jasper always woke up happy when he slept with Annabelle in his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday, L. <3
> 
> The next part, _The Twelfth Time_ , is another very special part in the series which will change **everything.** I've lost count the number of times people have asked for what happens in Part 12 to happen. Don't worry, folks. It's coming!


End file.
